The Cincinnati Reds aren’t playing a game today, but they did make four roster moves as they get set to being a series on Friday night in Sacramento against the Athletics. Graham Ashcraft and Chase Burns were both activated from the 15-day injured list. To make room on the 28-man roster the club optioned right-handed pitchers Lyon Richardson and Yosver Zulueta back to Triple-A Louisville.
We knew that Chase Burns was going to be activated for the series against the Athletics – we learned about that yesterday. Burns will be moving to the bullpen for the rest of this season as he returns from a flexor injury in his pitching arm. What we didn’t know is that Ashcraft was also going to be joining him on the active roster this soon.
Burns has not pitched in a game in five weeks. In his last outing he struck out 10 batters and allowed one run to the Pirates in a game that Cincinnati would eventually lose 3-2. Ashcraft has missed the last three weeks. After a shutout inning against Arizona on August 24th he was experiencing some pain near his wrist and went on the injured list with a right forearm strain.
While both pitchers have had some inconsistencies they undoubtedly improve the bullpen for the Reds. Cincinnati is just two games behind the New York Mets for the final wild card spot. Offense has been the biggest issue for the Reds as they continue to struggle to produce runs with regularity, but an improved bullpen should help the situation as maybe the offense doesn’t need to produce as many to pick up a win here and there over the next three weeks.
The two pitchers who are being replaced in the bullpen – Lyon Richardson and Yosver Zulueta – both had their options dated to September 10th after the game in San Diego.
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